‘Sodom’, the hotbed of sodomy, rape, murder in Kiambu

Sodom is a tiny village a few kilometres from Kiambu County. Here, big sins are committed. From sodomy, rape and murder.

These vices have persisted as the village in Riabai Ward where several paths lead to a dusty slum sitting in a forlorn corner like a brooding street urchin.

Villagers told The Nairobian that, here, all kinds of sexual activities take place in broad day. Evil spirits, the villagers claim, have led to absence of rains in the area.

Joseph Wanyugi, an elder, told The Nairobian that Sodom has existed since the 1960s when it was a hotbed of prostitution. “The slum was inhabited by women who lured the loaded men working as farm hands at the Mbo-I-Kamiti farm. They would dance and have sex throughout the night.”

Mzee Wanyugi adds that “children from Sodom rarely attended school and the place was infested with jiggers and lice. The place was cursed, so many lives have been lost in Sodom.”

Kennedy Miring’u says “I grew up in this village and things done here are weird as people used to be sodomized in broad daylight” but since security has been beefed up, things have changed. Monsieur Jack, another resident, recalls how his uncle was sodomised and killed.
“I cannot dare go home drunk, those people are like aliens. They are abnormal and cursed…the government should do something before things exacerbate and spread to other villages, the spirit is wanting.”

‘Sodom’ assistant chief, Josephat Kariuki explained that the area became notorious because “the junction where the slum sits was very dangerous and people were sodomised, women raped and killed. Even the elderly were not spared. The name itself caused fear. Nowadays, we have put security measures to safeguard people’s lives. The police post and Nyumba Kumi have restored sanity in this village.” Kariuki adds that rape victims rarely reported their cases out of fear as those killed were dumped along the road.

“We have partnered with religious leaders and the residents to pray and rename this village in an effort to denounce the evil spirit but our efforts bore no fruit,” laments Kariuki “because the people still want to be identified with Sodom. They refused to adopt the new name Jerusalem.”

George Njuguna, who rented a house in Sodom, confesses how afraid he was at first from the horror stories, but has since adapted since “I haven’t experienced any difficulties. The chief’s camp is not far away from Sodom and lately, security has been reinforced.”